


A Different Kind of Hunt

by xxenjoy



Category: Supernatural
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, kind of, scavenger hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 15:46:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2073873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxenjoy/pseuds/xxenjoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The paper, when he pulls it out, is neatly folded in a square and has a lopsided heart drawn on one side. Dean unfolds it and can't help but grin at the short message written in Cas' messy scrawl.</p><div class="center">
  <p> </p>
  <p>    <i>When I first came back, you kissed me and told me never to scare you like</i><br/>that again. I promised I never would.<br/></p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Kind of Hunt

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to R for this one because it's been sitting around for months and I had absolutely no reason to be ignoring it, and she pointed it out to me last night and I finally got off my ass and decided to write it. Also because she stayed up late to help me decide what to work on <3

When Dean wakes up, at first he doesn't realize anything is out of the ordinary. Even after two years, he's still not used to the idea of sharing a bed, but as soon as he realizes that he fell asleep next to someone last night, next to _Cas_ , panic sets in. He forces himself calm because Cas is probably up making breakfast or in the shower. He frowns a little at the second option because Cas usually waits for him to shower, and he likes showering with Cas. Pointedly _not_ pouting, Dean makes his way up to the kitchen, pretending he's only checking the shower room to stop and brush his teeth. Before he eats. 

Sam is in the kitchen when he finally slumps in, Cas is not. 

"Have you seen Cas?" he asks, scowling to himself because _where the hell is he?_ Sam just shrugs and turns on the coffeemaker before dropping gracelessly into the seat across from Dean.

"Good morning to you too," he mumbles. 

"He wasn't there when I woke up," Dean complains, oblivious to his brother's eye roll and blatant lack of interest, "he _never_ gets up before me. He barely gets out of bed without at least one cup of coffee."

"I don't know what to tell you, Dean, I haven't seen him since you went to bed last night." Dean frowns again, eyeing the coffeemaker and pretending to be a lot less upset than he is. After a few minutes of visually taking his disappointment out on the coffeemaker, it beeps and Dean grudgingly pushes himself up to grab his mug from the cupboard. 

He's been using the same one for 8 months and 3 weeks - almost exactly - since Cas got it for him for his birthday. It's simple really, just a plain black mug with little bees on it, but it's now one of Dean's most treasured possessions, and he never misses the stupid grin Sam gives him when he uses it. Every single morning. It's no different today, but when he pulls the mug out, there's something inside it, and before he can pull the paper out to see what it says, Sam is looming over his shoulder. 

"What is it?" he asks, and Dean elbows him in the side.

"Give me five seconds to look at it and I'll tell you." He shoves Sam out of the way and sits back down at the table, coffee forgotten. The paper, when he pulls it out, is neatly folded in a square and has a lopsided heart drawn on one side. Dean unfolds it and can't help but grin at the short message written in Cas' messy scrawl.

\--

_When I first came back, you kissed me and told me never to scare you like  
that again. I promised I never would._

\--

Dean scrunches his nose up and quickly folds the paper before Sam can read it over his shoulder. Apparently his expression is enough, because when he looks up at Sam there is a blatantly questioning look on his face, coloured with something resembling smug satisfaction.

"You gonna tell me what it says?"

"Not on your life," Dean grins, standing up and starting toward the door. 

He gets it now, Cas has set up this little game, and he's got to follow the clues. The first one is pretty obvious. He will never, as long as he lives, forget that night when Cas showed up, starving and exhausted at their front door. And he had kissed him, without the slightest bit of hesitation, because the overwhelming relief that Cas was okay blocked out any fear or hesitation he'd felt, and it turned out it had been the best decision he never actively made. 

He's halfway up the staircase before he even realizes it, and he turns around to see Sam smirking up at him from the map table, not so subtly pretending to do something else. The little square of paper, this one with a small green heart, is taped to the door. Dean pulls it off eagerly and unfolds it to find another note.

\--

_After you finished forcing me to eat, you told me I smelled awful and directed me down  
the hall - apparently I didn't smell badly enough for you to let go of my hand.  
(You should make those pancakes again, they're much better than Sam's.)_

\--

Dean grins to himself because yeah, he's a little proud of his pancakes and he's going to make damn sure to make them for Cas as soon as he finds the little shit. For now, he clearly needs to head back to the shower room, because he loves Cas he really does, and he knew it the second he'd walked through those doors, but being human and not showering is not a good combination and he had shoved him in the shower pretty damn quickly.

Cas' first shower had gone smoothly enough, until Dean had realized if he didn't get Cas out, Dean was going to end up losing out and showering in freezing cold water. Needless to say, once he had heard Cas humming to himself, he had given up any hope of having a warm shower and had ended up on the couch, wrapping Cas in a quilt once he discovered the hard way that hot water is not unlimited. 

He reaches the shower room alone, thankfully, and has to dig around trying to find his note. There aren't a lot of places to put things and after searching through the cubbies, Dean leans against the wall and frowns, re-thinking the note. It isn't about the pancakes, unless Cas is re-using locations already, but that seems doubtful, Cas is way more creative than that. 

Dean's pushing himself up off the wall, resigning himself to asking Sam for help, when he spots the little white slip of paper tucked behind the shower head. He grins and pulls it out, running his thumb over the matching heart.

\--

_**You** watched **me** this time_

\--

Dean actually blushes at that one. It's short and sweet, possibly a little creepy without context, but it's also probably Dean's favourite memory in the last two years.

They'd fallen asleep instantly after a particularly long and difficult hunt, and when Dean had woken up in the morning, Cas was still fast asleep, sprawled over more than half the bed. And yeah, he had sat propped up on one elbow, watching the way Cas' chest rose and fell with each light breath, the way his lips twitched it his sleep, almost smiling. Cas had made some smartass comment at him about how watching people sleep was creepy, and Dean had half smothered him until Cas had shoved him away, grinning. 

'I love you, you know that?' were the first words out of Dean's mouth that morning, and Cas had looked up at him suspiciously before pulling him down into a tender kiss, mumbling 'I love you too' against his lips. 

It had taken them a _long_ time to get out of bed that day. 

So he's pretty sure the bedroom is his next destination. _Their_ bedroom. The sound of it is still foreign to him, even though Cas has been sleeping in his bed literally since they day he arrived and announced he was staying. 

The note is in between their pillows this time, a pair of little pink hearts scribbled onto it. He grins and all but tears it open. He likes this game, but he's really eager to find Cas now and kiss his stupid, sentimental face and then probably drag him back to bed for the rest of the day. He hasn't realized what day it is until he sees the scribbled note.

\--

_You fell asleep watching Indiana Jones and I had to carry you to bed because you're  
grumpy when you fall asleep on the couch_

\--

Fuck, he thinks. It's their anniversary - of sorts. He'd been so distracted wondering where the hell Cas was when he woke up that he hadn't paid attention to the date.

After they had gotten past the awkwardness and finally admitted their feelings, it had been pretty clear that things had changed the moment he'd dragged Dean out of hell. And so, September 18th had become their unofficial anniversary date. And today is September 18th. It's been nine years to the day, and it's weird now to think he's known Cas for less than a decade because it feels like he's always been there. 

This note is definitely referring to last year's anniversary celebration, which was really just watching their favourite movies on the couch until, yeah, Dean fell asleep and had to be carried to bed for the first time since he was like, four. He smirks at the memory, remembering how grumpy Cas had pretended to be the following morning, until Dean had kissed him quiet. He heads to their little living room with a grin on his face. 

He actually blushes when he reads the note on top of the tv - adorned with another pair of hearts, one green, one blue.

\--

_You were angry because I tried to protect you, I was angry because you didn't think you  
were worth saving - again. Sam was angry because he had to catch a cab back to the  
hotel._

\--

A little of the anger and fear makes its way back to the surface as he recalls that night. He had been furious, not because Cas tried to protect him - which he makes a mental note to tell him once he finds him - but because it was _his_ fault that Cas had to jump in and protect him.

It was a vamp nest in North Dakota and he'd been too concerned with Cas' safety to pay attention to his surroundings and he'd backed himself into a corner. It was a stupid fucking mistake, and Cas had jumped in to gank the douche that was pinning him against the wall. Dean should have been grateful, was in fact, but in that moment he had been furious, only about to think about what the hell he would have done if he'd lost Cas. 

In the haze of emotion, he'd shoved Cas into the backseat, intending to lecture him on every single reason why what he'd done was stupid and dangerous and why he should never fucking put himself at risk like that for _anyone_. Instead, he'd kissed him hard, pleading and begging as he shrugged out of his coat and all but tore Cas' clothes off of him. 

The first time they'd had sex wasn't sweet and loving, it was rough and frantic, much like the rest of their lives. And yeah, Sam had been royally pissed when he'd unknowingly slid into the front seat, and then he'd bitched about it until his cab arrived.

He's assuming it's the car he's looking for, so he tucks the note into the pocket of his robe with the others and makes his way down to the garage. He's making a mental list of all the things he intends to do to Cas once he finds him, all the things he wants to say, when he steps up into the garage and stops dead. Whatever he was expecting to find, this is not it. 

The Impala is pulled out into the center of the garage and Cas is sitting with his knees up on the hood. His hair is - for the first time in his life, probably - is tidy and swept to one side, and he's dressed in the best clothes he owns, a somewhat anxious grin on his face and red rose petals scattered around him. Dean just barely resists the urge to climb up with him and push him back against the windshield. 

"What's all this?" He's beaming at him, and Cas just grins wider as he approaches. Dean steps up the front bumper and Cas holds out a hand to stop him, inching forward just slightly. 

"Dean," he starts, glancing down at his hands, "it's been nine years since I pulled you out of the pit. It wasn't my task, specifically, but I found you first, and I gripped you tight and pulled you back. A lot has changed since then, some of it good, some," he shrugs, "not so good, but you help me get through it. I screw up sometimes," he pauses to take a breath, and if Dean didn't know better he was think he was reading off a card. He keeps quiet and waits for Cas to continue, "I wouldn't still be here if it wasn't for you, and as much as I hate it some days if I was given the choice, knowing what I know now, I would choose to keep my humanity just to spend every day with you."

Dean reaches forward to take his hand, but Cas stops him, looking up with an increasingly nervous smile. He continues. 

"You've taught me things I never thought would have any importance in my life, and I'm glad I was wrong. I-" he takes a deep breath and Dean realizes his heart is racing because Cas is nearing the end of this little speech and he's probably more anxious than the man in front of him now, but he pushes it back, and listens as Cas goes on. "I love you, Dean, more than I ever thought possible. And I-" he turns with his whole body and produces a dark, velvet-wrapped box, "will you- I mean," he closes his eyes for a moment and when he opens them again, they're trained on Dean's. "Will you marry me?"

For an instant, Dean feels like he can't breathe. He knew, as soon as he saw the box, but hearing the words makes it all the more real. Even three years ago, he would have run screaming in the opposite direction, but he doesn't do that now. Instead, he climbs onto the hood of the car, plants his hands on either side of Cas' hips and presses him back against the windshield, kissing him like it's the last chance he's got. 

When Cas finally pulls away, he's flushed and breathing heavily, his hair back to it's general state of disarray. He barely manages to ask "is that a yes?" before Dean is back on him, grinning like a complete idiot and kissing his cheeks and his nose and finally his lips, mumbling "of course it's a yes" into Cas' mouth. 

Cas pushes him away again, holding the little ring box between them. There are not one, but two silver bands and Dean's so preoccupied staring at them, that he hardly realizes when Cas lifts his left hand. 

"Dean?" He looks up as Cas plucks one of the rings from the box and carefully slides it onto Dean's finger. "Sam says it's not legal in Kansas," Cas says calmly, still beaming as they both stare down at Dean's hand, "but it is in Colorado, which is just-"

Dean cuts him off with a kiss and then he's slipping the second ring onto Cas' hand where it shines in the fluorescent light, a perfect match for Dean's.

"Cas, I don't care if we've gotta drive up to _Canada_ , okay?" he cups Cas' face in his hands, pressing their noses together. "God, I love you," he breathes, "but you're sappy as fuck." Cas smiles wide, pulling Dean back against the car as he leans back.

"Is that why you're going to marry me?" he grins. 

"That's exactly why I'm going to marry you."


End file.
